Chinese Dragon Bench

The Chinese dragon bench was constructed in remembrance of the memories of four Chico men, Shu In, Ah Lee, Ah Gow and Ah Quen and a woman named Andrea Spessard. Andrea died from an accident with a drunk driver, on 18 September 2004, when she was only twenty-four years old. Following her death, her boyfriend and other members of her family decided to donate a bench to the city in the memory of Andrea. Adam Rix, Andrea’s boyfriend approached the coordinator of the art projects in the city, Mary Gardner to ask her about his proposal.

Rix explained to Gardner that he was interested in donating a bench that would be placed to commemorate his late girlfriend. Gardner told him that as the Art Commission wanted to put art benches that would honor Chico, then this would be possible. Rix was also free to choose the artist that he wanted. For the honor of Chico, he chose to commemorate the historical death of the Chico men who had been murdered at the Lemm Ranch in 1877.

To represent Andrea, green tiles and a monkey were put on the bench. The green tiles came from Andrea’s stage name as a dancer, Jade, while the monkey was associated with her birth year, 1980, which was known as the year of the monkey. Other colors used in the dragon bench were black, red and gold. This simplified and emphasized the features and character of the dragon. The black also represented the loss felt from the death of these individuals, while the red represented their violent and suffered murders. The bench was however not completed by Christmas due to the weather, which made it hard for the tiles to dry. Christen had help in completing the artwork. One of the helpers was Michele Shover, who read the monographs of the murders of the Lemm ranch, as background and in proofreading the plaque.

The bench resembles a raised block of stone, which is shaped like a cuboid. The surface has been put irregular patterns of different forms. The top surface has been drawn a dragon with fire coming from its mouth. The dragon’s body is multi-colored and it stretches on the whole bench. From an aerial perspective, the bench is eye-catching because it is different from its background. The many colors used on this bench blend well and makes it look appealing. The presence of that bench brings the memories of the departed like Andrea, Shu In, Ah Lee, Ah Gow and Ah Quen. This bench makes the environment look attractive and pleasant. Analyzing this photo enhances art skills of an individual and enables him or her to understand artwork in a better way.